Police drug sting turns into hostage standoff

A police sting operation turned into a hostage drama after a suspected drug dealer realized his customer was an undercover informant.

Jatuporn Srisuwan, 31, surrendered to police Oct. 15 after allegedly holding the unnamed police informant hostage in his family’s Soi Ban Lang house for 30 minutes. The suspect’s mother, sister and girlfriend were also detained.

The standoff began after Chonburi Provincial Police sent the informant to purchase 170 ya ba tablets and 5 g. of crystal methamphetamines from Jatuporn, who was released from prison in January after serving a five-year sentence for drug dealing.

Guns drawn, police move in to contain the situation.

As the deal went down, Jatuporn figured out the plot and allegedly took the informant prisoner. Police called in reinforcements and Jatuporn released the undercover agent after a half-hour.

In the house, officers found one ya ba tablet and 5 g. of ya ice. Commanders called on officers to dismantle the home’s toilet, as they believed the rest was flushed before Jatuporn surrendered.

This article was published in the Pattaya Mail newspaper on Friday October 26, 2012 (Vol. XX No. 43).